


Gummy Bears

by assholemurphy



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: High School AU, M/M, Not Beta Read, One-sided Murphonty, Soulmate AU - Tally Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-04-02
Packaged: 2018-03-20 21:34:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3665973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/assholemurphy/pseuds/assholemurphy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tally Mark Soulmate AU. Murphy has too many tally marks, Monty only has one. Sometimes, people just fall in love too easily.</p><p>One sided Murphonty w/background Jonty.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gummy Bears

**Author's Note:**

> I found a prompt on tumblr and this is what happened.

Murphy stared at his wrist in disgust, willing the bright red mark to fade, it stubbornly refused, instead it glared back, the last in a long row, proof of yet another unfortunate mistake. Red for crushes and unrequited love, black for mutual love, white scars for death. He hated this world and it's stupid tally marks.

He had so many already, all red but for one thin white scar, the first in the row. He remembered each mark and who was responsible for it, and why all of them had remained red save for the scar.

_Mbege._ He hadn't been the last of Murphy's marks, but he'd been the only black one, the only requited love. His best friend since kindergarten, who'd died in a car wreck coming home from a high school basketball game. It had torn Murphy's world in two, but he still saw it as his best mark, his best love. The rest had all been one sided, each of them wearing Murphy down a little more.

After Mbege had been Bellamy, the rookie cop that had caught him more times than he could remember, and almost all of them had been purposeful. It had been worth the nights in jail just to see him, each time he'd tried harder and harder to woo the man, all in the hope that his mark would turn black. It never had, and when Bellamy found out what was going on, he'd requested a transfer to a different part of the city, and Murphy, knowing what rejection looked like, hadn't followed.

There'd been Clarke, the daughter of Dr. Griffin, who patched him up nearly every time he'd wound up in the emergency room. She hardly asked any questions, but Clarke wasn't as polite. She was brash and a little intimidating, and it had resulted in a another bright red mark, one that would never be shared. He knew that the day he'd found out she was engaged, an art student at the local college named Lexa. He'd been happy for her,honestly, but that didn't stop him from drowning himself in alcohol that night.

Then came Emori, he'd met her at the wedding. They'd shared a few drinks and a bed, but in the morning, she was gone, leaving only a red tally behind.

Next was a man named Craig. He was sweet and caring, a bit of a goofball, but he'd hooked Murphy and pulled him in just like the rest. They had actually dated for a while, Murphy's first relationship since Mbege, but it had ended rather badly when Craig's boyfriend returned from college only to find he'd been replaced. Murphy had really liked Craig, but he also liked to believe he was better than that.

He'd met Finn shortly after, an art student dropout that preferred concrete and spray paint to canvas. He'd never really liked Murphy, but they'd kept each other company and it really wasn't Finn's fault he fell in love. He'd always been quick to fall, it was what he hated most about himself. Finn had been understanding, even willing to try a more serious relationship, but Murphy had ran. He'd ran fast and far, not stopping until he could breath again.

He'd thought he was out of the woods now, it had been six months since he'd noticed anymore tally marks. He should have known, of course he should have known. It had been slowly creeping up on him since the day they'd first started this stupid tutoring thing. He'd needed the help and the kid had needed the extra credit, so they'd made it work. They'd been studying together for two months now, and Murphy couldn't say what it was that had made him fall, but here he was, in the middle of the library waiting for the person who would wear him down just a little bit more. He wondered how long he had until he was worn away to nothing. Maybe then he'd stop falling in love with people he could never have.

Murphy groaned and tugged his sleeve down, sticking his thumb through a hole so it wouldn't slide down. He dropped his head onto the table, a soft thunk echoing through the nearly empty room. He was both eager and terrified. On one hand, he couldn't wait to see his tutor again, but on the other, now that he knew why he was so excited, all he wanted to do was leave. Maybe he could still do that. All he had to do was send a text and cancel.

He'd just made up his mind to do just that when a stack of practice books was set down in front of him. “Sorry I'm late, I had to grab these from Professor Jaha's room.” The boy smiled at him, dropping his bag on the floor beside him and pulling out a chair.

“No, it's fine.” Murphy returned the smile. He really shouldn't be this happy to study, even if it was with Monty. “Are they for the test or...?”

“No, those are for me. But I did hear it's supposed to be the hardest test we've had this semester.”

Murphy groaned at that. He hated tests, he never did well on them. He wasn't stupid, and god help you if you called him such, but he wasn't a good student. The information just didn't sink in the way it should, he had no interest in it, and he couldn't think of a practical way to apply it to his life. He was never going to need to graph a fucking triangle or whatever the hell they were doing.

“It won't be that bad, I'm sure. You'll pass it. I haven't failed you yet, have I?” Monty asked, opening one of the books and pulling out several pens and a notebook.

“No.” Murphy answered honestly. It was true, since Monty had started helping him, he hadn't failed a single test. Granted, he wasn't a straight A student, not by a long shot, but thanks to his tutor, he might actually pass this year.

He'd already been held back once, unlike Monty, who'd skipped a grade somewhere in elementary. Murphy suspected he could have already gone to college, but for some reason he hadn't. It wasn't any of Murphy's business, so he hadn't asked.

“Exactly. So, stop whining and pay attention.” Monty laughed, pulling out a colorful bag. “Besides, I brought an incentive.”

“You brought gummy bears?” He was _not_ a dog. He did not need _treats._

“Yep. Don't look at me like that. Do you want them or not?”

Murphy held up his hand in surrender. Dog or not, gummy bears were a beautiful creation and he was willing to go along with whatever Monty had in mind. Like he'd said, he hadn't let him down yet.

“Good. Now, since we've already been through the basics, all that's really left is to go over what's going to be on the test. Which is where this,” Monty pulled a few sheets of paper from between a couple of the books, “comes in.”

“Is that-”

“Uh-huh. Jaha's math test. He didn't have the answers on his computer, the paranoid jerkass, but he did have the questions, so, I figured, we might as well make use of what we've got, right?”

“You hacked his computer?”

“Shh, jeez.” Monty scowled, looking around the room. He sighed when he realized they were alone, the last of the students having left while they were talking. “Yes, is that a problem?”

“Nope.” Murphy smirked, reaching for the papers only to have them pulled out of his reach.

“No, no. We're going to do this my way. I'm going to ask you a question, you get it right, you get a gummy bear, you get it wrong and you fail the test.”

“That's reassuring.”

“Isn't it?” Monty shoved the notebook and one of the pens towards Murphy. “In case you need to work it out or something.”

Murphy took the supplies with a huff. He'd rather just buy his own damn gummy bears and be done with this.

“Don't be like that. Look, the first one's easy. Simplify: 3n + 4001\+ 3n + 4001\+ 3n + 4001. Just use the paper and I'll check it when you're done.” Monty told him, propping his feet up on the table and tipping the chair back on two legs.

“I hope you fall over.” Murphy grumbled, writing the problem down in the notebook. He sighed deeply and began to work it out, starting over three different times before he finally got it. “Alright, there.” He shoved the notebook over to Monty who gave it a glance before nodding and opening the bag of candy.

“What color?”

“I don't care.”

“Murphy, that's not a color. No wonder you aren't passing.”

“Oh, for fuck's sake.” He rolled his eyes, exasperated. “Red.”

“Here you go.” Monty sat the bear on the notebook, standing it up so it was looking at Murphy. “Ready for the next problem?”

“No.” Murphy whined, popping the candy into is mouth. He was never going to be ready.

“Too bad. For what values of r would the line x + y = r be tangent to the circle x2 \+ y2 = 4? “

Once again, Murphy wrote in the notebook, hoping to finish as quickly as possible. He hated math.

“No.” Monty shook his head, throwing and catching a gummy bear in his mouth. “Solve for r first.”

Murphy tried again, his hatred for math growing with every number he wrote. “Is that it?”

“Huh-uh.”

Two more tries and he finally got it, the proud look on Monty's face almost making the struggle worth it. “Color?”

“Green.”

They repeated the process a few more times, Murphy struggling and Monty providing encouragement and sarcasm in equal doses. They'd almost made it to the end and Murphy couldn't be happier, except that it meant Monty would be leaving soon. He was willing to put up with math if it meant he got to hang out with the genius, but it always made him feel a bit sad when it was over.

“Alright, that looks nice. Color?”

Murphy rolled his eyes, he'd already been through every color twice. “Surprise me?”

“Alright.” Monty agreed. “Close your eyes and open your mouth.

Murphy complied, only slightly worried. He waited, well aware of how ridiculous he looked, relieved they were the only two left. He was about to tell Monty to hurry up when he felt a hand brush the side of his face. Seconds later there was a mass of candy shoved into him mouth. Startled, he jerked back, eyes wide. “Waadufel?” He tried to speak, a few gummy bears falling from him mouth.

Monty roared with laughter as Murphy glared at him, attempting to chew the gummies with difficulty. Once he'd managed to swallow them all, he frowned, locking eyes with the howling brat across the table. “Not. Funny.”

“From over here it is.” Monty smirked, amused by Murphy's displeasure.

“Yeah?” Murphy asked, standing up.

“No, no. Don't you dare.” Monty warned him, almost falling out of his chair in an effort to get away as Murphy rounded the table.

He ran down the rows of books in pursuit of Monty, almost knocking over a cart in the process. Murphy finally caught up with him as they rounded one of the shelf ends, colliding and falling into a giggling heap beside the science fiction section.

“Well, that was fun.” Monty panted out, turning to look at Murphy.

“You're such a loser.” Murphy replied with a shake of his head. He paused, the wristband Monty wore had come undone, showing off one black tally mark on his wrist. Murphy's mood deflated. Of course he'd have someone already. That was the typical in Murphy's relationships. He'd thought for a second, just a second but it was enough to give him hope, that maybe, just maybe Monty would like him back. He shouldn't have thought that, shouldn't have allowed himself to hope, should have just ignored it, but he hadn't. _Fuck._

“Oh.” Monty followed Murphy's gaze. “Yeah. His name's Jasper. He's been with me for years. The mark appeared in like, fifth grade, same day, same time. We got married on the playground.” He chuckled at the memory. 

Murphy forced a smile. And one day they'd get married for real, that's what usually happened, at least. He was happy, Monty was his friend, and he should be happy for him. He refused to admit to anything else. “That's cool.”

“Yeah.” Monty nodded, getting up and fixing his wristband. “You got someone?”

“No.” Murphy shook his head, following Monty's lead and standing. He did once, but he didn't feel like sharing that information.

“Oh. Well, it'll happen someday. I mean, come one, who wouldn't love you?” He laughed, slapping a hand on Murphy's back.

_ You'd be surprised.  _ Murphy bit his tongue, just nodding as they walked. He'd been through this before. He'd learn to get over it eventually, he always did.

“I've got to go, man. Jasper has a thing planned and he'll ignore me for weeks if I'm late.” Monty smiled, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “Same time next week?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Great. See ya 'round, Murph!” He called over his should, leaving Murphy behind.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Murphy tugged on his jacket. He'd done this before, he was going to get through it this time, too. He'd be alright after a few shots and maybe he'd find someone to take his mind off it. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists. He knew this would happen, it was okay. He nodded to himself, ignoring the sting in his wrist. Monty wasn't his black mark, that was okay. It was okay.

Except it wasn't. No matter how many times he told himself that he'd be alright, it wasn't going to help. It never did. He wished he was the type to curl up on the couch with ice cream and cheesy movies, but he wasn't. He didn't need comfort, he needed to forget. Forget who he was and how the only person who'd ever loved him and ever would was dead and how now he was head over heels for some guy who probably wouldn't even have acknowledged his existence if he wasn't so fucking stupid. He just needed to forget all of it. Monty's face, the stupid warm bubbly feeling he got in his stomach whenever he saw him, the way he managed to make Murphy laugh at the stupidest of things, the way that he'd never, ever,  _ ever  _ be Murphy's.

He needed to punch something. And he hoped that whatever he punched hit back. Hard enough to make him forget.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feedback is loved! Find me on tumblr if you want to [assholemurphy](http://assholemurphy.tumblr.com/)


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